![](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/aa\/Every_Day_Will_Be_Sunday_When_the_Town_Goes_Dry_sheet_music_1918.jpg\/800px-Every_Day_Will_Be_Sunday_When_the_Town_Goes_Dry_sheet_music_1918.jpg\")
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Maybe Americans voted for\u00a0Prohibition<\/a>\u00a0– in 1920 – thinking,\u00a0\u00a0What have we got to lose<\/a>???\u201d<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n Looking for a breath of fresh air after Election Day \u2013 around 4:00 a.m. Wednesday morning \u2013 I found\u00a0Trump\u2019s presidential election victory means America must hope for the best<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Today \u2013 May 3, 2018 \u2013 I just re-read that article, and it was\u00a0most interesting<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n And speaking of November 8, 2016, it seemed to me then \u2013 and even more so now \u2013 that Trump\u2019s election was and is an \u201cexperiment.\u201d\u00a0 An experiment in electing a man totally unqualified by training, experience or temperament to be\u00a0Leader of the Free World<\/a>.<\/p>\n That in turn led me to an\u00a0earlier<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>such experiment in our history.\u00a0\u00a0(Which, as it turned out, failed.)<\/em>\u00a0 In that experiment, American voters tried to outlaw drinking.\u00a0\u00a0(As in the drinking of alcoholic beverages.)\u00a0 S<\/em>ee The Prohibition Experiment of the 1920\u2019s<\/a>, which said the\u00a0period of 13 years when America outlawed liquor \u201cis often referred to as an \u2018experiment.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Now about that poster at the top of the page:\u00a0 Back before 1920, America was in the grip of\u00a0blue laws<\/a>.\u00a0 They prohibited – among other things – selling\u00a0alcohol<\/a>\u00a0“on Sundays … under the idea that people should be in church on Sunday morning, or at least not drinking.”\u00a0 Thus the idea that “every day will be Sunday” was depressing to many Americans.\u00a0 See\u00a0Songs about Prohibition Expressed\u00a0Opposition & Occasional Support<\/a>, which included the “Prohibition Blues:”<\/p>\n \u2018Scuse me while I shed a tear, So anyway, the Prohibition Experiment<\/a>\u00a0article said that word alone \u2013\u00a0experiment<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cimplies that it was a futile period within America\u2019s history.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>As to the reasons<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0s<\/em>ee\u00a0U.S. Prohibition \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>:<\/p>\n In a backlash to the emerging reality of a changing American demographic, many prohibitionists subscribed to the doctrine of\u00a0nativism<\/a><\/strong>, in which they endorsed the notion that America was made great as a result of its white Anglo-Saxon ancestry. \u00a0This belief fostered resentments towards urban immigrant communities\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Which sounded eerily similar somehow…<\/p>\n As to\u00a0nativism<\/a>, see\u00a0Lonely and unhappy people elected Donald\u00a0Trump<\/a>:\u00a0 \u201cWe know that racism, nativism and white victimology were crucial motivations for Trump\u2019s voters.\u00a0 We [also] know that white identity politics disguised as anger \u2026 propelled Trump\u2019s victory.\u201d<\/p>\n But the triumph of\u00a0nativism<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 at least in terms of Prohibition \u2013 was short-lived.\u00a0 It was short-lived because of two traits inherent in the American character:\u00a0 We are creative, and we hate being told what to do by \u201chigher ups.\u201d\u00a0 (Especially higher-ups in the federal government.)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n So here\u2019s how\u00a0some<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Americans got around the \u201corders from above\u201d during Prohibition:<\/p>\n Making alcohol at home was very common during Prohibition. \u00a0Stores sold grape concentrate with warning labels that listed the steps that\u00a0should be avoided<\/b>\u00a0to prevent the juice from fermenting into wine\u2026 \u00a0The grape concentrate was sold with a warning: \u201cAfter dissolving the brick in a gallon of water,\u00a0do not<\/b>\u00a0place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn into wine<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And as to the \u201cnoble\u201d part of the post-title, see\u00a0Prohibition: America\u2019s failed \u201cnoble experiment\u201d \u2013\u00a0CBS News<\/a>.\u00a0 (\u201cProhibition was the so-called \u2018noble experiment\u2019 which had some rather ignoble consequences.\u201d)\u00a0<\/i> The article was based in large part on the book,\u00a0Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition<\/a>.\u00a0 And asked why he loved writing about Prohibition, author\u00a0Daniel\u00a0Okrent<\/a>\u00a0said:<\/p>\n How did it happen, indeed.\u00a0 Prohibition did<\/em> happen, but then we\u00a0wised up<\/a>.<\/p>\n So one<\/em><\/strong> point of this post is that Americans are industrious, creative and adaptive.\u00a0 That is, we generally learn from our mistakes.\u00a0 All of which means that anything really<\/em> <\/strong>weird that \u201cThe Donald\u201d tries to do will likely be\u00a0leavened<\/a>\u00a0– as in an “altering<\/span>\u00a0or<\/span>\u00a0transforming<\/span>\u00a0influence” – by the very\u00a0characteristics of American democracy<\/a>\u00a0that Donald Trump seems to loathe.\u00a0 (Including but not limited to the ideas of a\u00a0free press<\/a>\u00a0and that we are a nation of laws, not men<\/a>.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n And there’s yet another bright note:<\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n The upper\u00a0image is courtesy of\u00a0Prohibition in the U.S. \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>.\u00a0 The caption to the poster shown:\u00a0 \u201c<\/em>Every Day Will Be Sunday When the Town Goes Dry<\/i>\u00a0(1918\u20131919).\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Wikipedia<\/a>\u00a0added this:<\/em><\/p>\n Prohibition represented a conflict between urban and rural values emerging in the United States. \u00a0Given the mass influx of migrants to the urban centers of the United States, many individuals within the prohibition movement associated the crime and morally corrupt behavior of American cities with their large, immigrant populations.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Which also<\/strong> sounds eerily familiar\u2026\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>For another take, see\u00a0What we didn\u2019t know about Trump on\u00a0Election Day 2016<\/a>. (May 2, 2018.)<\/em><\/p>\n Re:\u00a0 \u201cOur\u201d president as\u00a0Leader of the Free World<\/a>.\u00a0 But see\u00a0Merkel is now the\u00a0leader of the free world<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Re:\u00a0 The KKK and Prohibition.\u00a0 See Wikipedia, and\u00a0The\u00a0KKK Supported Prohibition and Defended It<\/a>.\u00a0 The “KKK”\u00a0image courtesy of\u00a0Prohibition in the U.S. \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>.\u00a0 Caption:\u00a0 \u201cDefender Of The 18th Amendment.\u00a0 From\u00a0Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty<\/a>\u00a0published by the\u00a0Pillar of Fire Church<\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Re:\u00a0 Irony.\u00a0 See\u00a0Irony – Wikipedia<\/a>\u00a0and\/or\u00a0irony\u00a0– Wiktionary<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Re:\u00a0 Trump’s campaign promises.\u00a0 See\u00a0Donald\u00a0Trump’s top 10\u00a0campaign promises\u00a0|\u00a0PolitiFact<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The “Happy Days” image is courtesy of\u00a0Happy Days Are Here Again 1932 Convention\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Image\u00a0Results<\/a>:\u00a0<\/em>\u201cpinimg.com \u2026 eddfe33922d14ea84e130\u2013prohibition-ends-canvas-prints.jpg.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/h1>\n
![\"Republican](\"http:\/\/assets.nydailynews.com\/polopoly_fs\/1.2865499.1478679223!\/img\/httpImage\/image.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/article_750\/621864738.jpg\")
I first drafted this post just after Tuesday, November 8, 2016.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the opening line:<\/p>\n
\nFor good old whiskey, gin and beer.
\nGoodbye forever, Goodbye forever.
\nAh got de Prohibition, Prohibition, Prohibition blues.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n![](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/4\/47\/Defender18thkkk.jpg\/800px-Defender18thkkk.jpg\")
And speaking of “strange bedfellows<\/a>,” one of the strongest supporters of Prohibition was the\u00a0Ku Klux Klan<\/a>, as shown at left.\u00a0 (Not that there’s any connection to current events or anything…)<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com\/736x\/19\/09\/b2\/1909b2fd3efc161f2907c77bf052d09a.jpg\")
You have to love a country where that happens.\u00a0 (See too Irony<\/a>,\u00a0a\u00a0“statement<\/a>\u00a0that, when taken in context, may actually mean something different from, or the\u00a0opposite<\/a>\u00a0of, what is written\u00a0literally<\/a>.”)<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s the answer to that question, how the hell did that happen?\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Thanks to the\u00a022d Amendment<\/a>. this “experiment”\u00a0won\u2019t<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0last 13 years\u2026<\/em><\/h3>\n
![\"Prohibition](\"https:\/\/i.pinimg.com\/736x\/f2\/95\/0e\/f2950e00f83eddfe33922d14ea84e130--prohibition-ends-canvas-prints.jpg\")
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